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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. lie — to recline
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. clip — to cut
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. clip — a video
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. snap — to click
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. content — the amount
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — final
  15. clip — for paper
  16. content — happy
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. last — finally

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com